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regarding international orders:

There has been an enormous increase in the price of international postage. Since we do not charge separately for shipping, this makes it tricky to ship overseas. One possible solution would be if you want to use the donate button below -- the difference between our price for a cd and the cost of international shipping is around $10, so you could order a cd and then make a donation for something around that amount to cover the postage -- this amount probably covers up to 3 cd's. Just a thought.

Donation

Here is the new donation space. I was wondering what to write here, and then I realized I don't want to try to persuade you to donate or lay out the case why you should -- if anyone feels like making a donation, great, and I'm sure you have your own reasons.

On this topic, though, I would like to say that there is always music, and money; the relationship between the two is often mysterious, never goes in a straight line, and is always subject to changing social structure, laws, and technology, since who knows when.

In the twentieth century, musicians achieved basic legal protection for their recorded work. We thought that was solidly in place, but now we see that it lasted but a moment.

These days all monetary transactions involving recorded music are basically "donations," since most music can be listened to for free if you want. (Please be aware that if you listen to music on Spotify or similar services the financial reward to the artist is essentially the same as if you had pirated the music: no money whatsoever. Personally I would encourage you to steal the music rather than use Spotify, since at least then you aren't enriching a corporation whose policies toward musicians are tantamount to theft.)

So, thank you for visiting the site and browsing around a little. I hope you have found something of value here.

There's cd's and downloads for sale below, and if you feel inclined to donate, for whatever reason, it will be much appreciated.

Donate:
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CDs / Downloads / Merchandise

PRACTITIONER

Here is BAG014, PRACTITIONER. Three years in the making, this is Michael Coleman and Ben Goldberg's recording of Steve Lacy's "Hocus Pocus."

Ben Goldberg Says:

“In 1985 I took a lesson from Steve Lacy. I was in Paris a lot and would go to the Sunset to hear Steve and politely beg for a lesson. Finally he relented, saying, ‘I have a soft spot for clarinetists.’ We spent the afternoon at his place on Rue du Temple and Steve prescribed some exercises for investigating the basic elements of music. At the end of our meeting he gave me a copy of a new record of his, called Hocus Pocus.”

TheMaterial:

Hocus Pocus (Book H of 'Practitioners') is a collection of six etudes for soprano saxophone composed by Steve Lacy. Mr. Lacy writes: "Deliberately made so as to be hard to play, they also contain many of the characteristic ‘licks’, which comprise the language that I use, in the the different kinds of improvisational musics that I perform in. Each piece is also a portrait of, and an homage to, a distinguished practitioner of a particular art.”

The Record:

As Michael and Ben studied and recorded the compositions over a period of three years, they began to envision a kind of dreamlike multidimensional sonic collage, which they realized in collaboration with engineers Eli Crews and Mark Allen-Piccolo.

Since Steve was a baseball fan, the cd includes a pack of “baseball cards,” each with a portrait by Molly Barker and an original poem. There are cards for the artists to whom Lacy dedicated his pieces, along with the people who made the record happen, and of course Steve himself. The poems are by Dean Young, J. Kathleen White, Paul Muldoon, Heather de Guzman Gordon, Clark Coolidge, Molly Barker, SNEAL, Babs Gonzalez, Jake Marmer, and Jesse Rimler.

$24.00

TITLE OF WORK

Brian Chase, Rob Reich and I got together on a hot summer day in 2016 at Brian's old space in Manhattan to record this collection of improvisations.

$14.00

Purchase on iTunes

Ben Goldberg School, Vol. I: The Humanities

Here is the first record by Ben Goldberg School. We recorded it in January 2012, right before I got to work on Orphic Machine, and you can hear some of the same repertoire that went into Orphic Machine, as well as themes and ideas that were incorporated. A lovely record. Recorded and mixed (and tromboned) by Jeff Cressman.

Kasey Knudsen - alto saxophone

Jeff Cressman - trombone

Rob Reich - accordion and piano

David Ewell - bass

Hamir Atwal - drums

Ben Goldberg - clarinet

$14.00

Broken Home

Broken Home. The new record by everybody's favorite band. Yes that would be The Schimscheimer Family Trio. Who's in the family? Kasey Knudsen - alto saxophone + electronics; Jon Arkin - drums + electronics; Michael Coleman - keyboards + electronics. That's a lot of electronics and you will hear that they have been put to good use in this music. These songs will stay with you. A winner.

$15.00

Purchase on iTunes

Knuckle Sandwich

The first record by Invisible Guy.

$12.00

Purchase hi-quality download from Bandcamp

Dialogue

The first recording by the duo of Myra Melford and Ben Goldberg. Nate Chinen writes in the New York Times:

Ms. Melford, a pianist, and Mr. Goldberg, a clarinetist, formed a close musical alliance about a dozen years ago, working in each other’s bands and honing an even-keel, intuitive rapport. Their new album, plainly titled “Dialogue” (BAG Production), confirms the quiet potency of that bond: It’s a set of chamber miniatures fleshed out in real time, in ways that never feel pedantic or forced. The compositions cover a welcome dynamic range: Ms. Melford’s “Moonless Night” opens in a pool of somber reflection, and slowly moves toward emotional release. Mr. Goldberg’s “Your Life Here” has a spry, inquisitive melody set against a bittersweet toll of chords. Both artists play with elegant composure, and the album captures their sound beautifully. There’s never a moment when the music feels provisional, or when the duo suggests anything other than a complete entity unto itself.

$15.00

Purchase on iTunes

Orphic Machine - Double LP

Here comes Orphic Machine!

Words by Allen Grossman! Music by Ben Goldberg!

With:

Carla Kihlstedt

Myra Melford

Ron Miles

Nels Cline

Greg Cohen

Ches Smith

Rob Sudduth

Kenny Wollesen

Excellently recorded by the legendary Ron St. Germain at the legendary Sear Sound in New York!

Mixed by Ron St. Germain! Mastered by Joe Gastwirt!

Produced by David Breskin!

You won't believe the sound of this record!

Funded by a grant from the Shifting Foundation.

$28.48

Orphic Machine - CD

Here comes Orphic Machine!

Words by Allen Grossman! Music by Ben Goldberg!

With:

Carla Kihlstedt

Myra Melford

Ron Miles

Nels Cline

Greg Cohen

Ches Smith

Rob Sudduth

Kenny Wollesen

Excellently recorded by the legendary Ron St. Germain at the legendary Sear Sound in New York!

Mixed by Ron St. Germain! Mastered by Joe Gastwirt!

Produced by David Breskin!

You won't believe the sound of this record!

Funded by a grant from the Shifting Foundation.

$17.98

Purchase on iTunes

Short-Sighted Dream Colossus

In August of 2010 Scott Amendola, John Dieterich, and I recorded a short program of amazingly beautiful music. It has taken a while, but I think the wait was worth it -- the cd, Short-Sighted Dream Colossus, is available as of September 16, 2014. I think you will enjoy it.

$11.00

Purchase on iTunes

T Shirts!

Happy to announce the Unfold Ordinary Mind T shirt!

Molly Barker's painting of a pink horse, from the fold-out booklet that accompanies the cd, looks great on dark grey, with the Unfold Ordinary Mind logo beneath. The shirts are pre-shrunk 100% combed ring-spun cotton.

These were a big hit on our September 2013 tour and we sold out of the first printing. More are on the way, and we aim to keep a variety of women's and men's sizes in stock.

A note on sizes: we are using the Bella brand of shirt; their women's sizes seem to run small. So, if you usually wear a Small, you might want to order a Medium, etc.

How to specify your size: since the website is not yet designed for T shirt orders, please go ahead and order your quantities, then send an email to

bagproduction[at]gmail.com

with the size(s) you need. (For specific measurements or size queries, just send an email and we will send more information.)

Price includes shipping.

$25.00

Worry Later

Here is a lovely record of Thelonious Monk compositions, played by Adam Levy on guitar, Smith Dobson on drums, and myself on clarinet. We had a relaxed and surprising time at Jeff Cressman's studio in January 2014, and I think the music reflects the friendliness and weirdness of the session. This is a download-only release!

You can find the album on iTunes and bandcamp (see links), or on Amazon by clicking here.

Purchase on iTunes

Purchase hi-quality download from Bandcamp

Unfold Ordinary Mind: Limited Edition

Last year as we were preparing Unfold Ordinary Mind for release, Molly Barker and I envisioned a limited edition that would include an original piece of art.

Molly reports: "I thought I would do a drawing of a horse for each copy, to connect with the booklet I made for the record. The horses soon took on a life of their own and the project got much bigger than I had imagined."

Molly created 150 brush-and-ink paintings, each depicting a horse in motion or repose (the horse above is #63). The series is called Year of the Snake.

your edition will be signed by Ben Goldberg and Molly Barker, and numbered

all materials are archival quality

To specify which horse painting you are interested in: send an email to ben[dot]goldberg[dot]music[at]gmail.com, telling us at which minute and second of the video your horse appears; or attach a screenshot of your horse to the email. We will let you know if your preferred horse is available.

$65.00

Unfold Ordinary Mind

I have been developing my abilities on the Eb contra alto clarinet (a weird member of the family, pitched below the bass clarinet) for some years, mostly in my work with the group Tin Hat. Somehow it occurred to me to have a band where I was the bass player, on this instrument.

So after finishing up the premier of my latest giant project, Orphic Machine, in March of 2012, I wrote a bunch of songs and assembled this crew at the Bunker studio in Williamsburg one day in May. We learned the tunes, rehearsed, and recorded them all in just a few hours, and the results are extraordinary -- raw, dire, and to the point.

Molly Barker did the cover art and painted a lovely fold-out booklet that is included with the cd.

Here is a video of Parallelogram, from a concert in Baltimore in December 2012:

$15.00

Purchase on iTunes

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Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues

Joshua Redman and I had gotten to know each other when SF Jazz presented a double bill of my trio Plays Monk and Josh’s trio featuring Joe Lovano. Later I invited Josh to sit in with my quintet, and he suggested that we make a record together. Ron Miles and I are both from Denver and I had always been crazy about his playing so I invited him (this was before we recorded Go Home). Of course anything can happen when the rhythm section is Good For Cows.

We rehearsed for a day and then recorded at the legendary (and lamented) Bay Records in Berkeley, California. The session had a loose, swinging feel, and we tried a wide range of tunes, from the avant-swing of “Evolution” to the exuberant funereal march of “Possible,” and I even made an arrangement of Bob Dylan’s version of “Satisfied Mind."

$14.00

Purchase on iTunes

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Go Home

Here is the first record on my new label, BAG Production Records (BAG 001).

Charlie, Scott, and I had been talking for a few years about recording together, and saw an opportunity when Scott and I would be at the Jazz Standard in New York for a week in April, 2008. Ron Miles was in town with Bill Frisell, and he joined us for two days at the Bunker studio in Williamsburg. I provided the tunes and a lovely time was had by all. Later, when I was thinking about it, the name Go Home came to me because the sound of the group is so direct and honest that for me it goes back to when I was little and music hit me so hard. Also, in Get Back on Let It Be, which I listened to a lot back then, I believe Paul says "go home."

This CD combines the studio session with some tracks from a live recording made by Jeff Cressman at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, California in the fall of 2008. I think the cd captures the unique spirit of the group, with inspired performances, unstoppable grooves, and a beautiful sound throughout, thanks to Mark Orton's mix and mastering by Jon Cohrs of Spleenless Mastering.

Molly Barker took the photograph on the cover and Lynda Nakashima designed the package to create a lovely debut for BAG Production Records.

$15.00

Purchase on iTunes

the door, the hat, the chair, the fact

From the liner notes:

This music is for Steve Lacy. It was written in 2004 after I learned that Steve had cancer. I was thinking and thinking about him and I wished there was something I could do so I wrote down all the music I could and I kept thinking of Steve and hoping for the best.

Once Steve Lacy gave me a lesson, I mean I went over to his house for a lesson, I had already been doing my best to draw a lesson from his work. It was 1985, for some reason I had been in Paris a lot and when I was there I would go to the Sunset and listen to Steve and politely beg for a lesson. Finally he relented, maybe so I would stop bothering him and also saying, “I have a soft spot for clarinetists.”

I should say that back then I had a hero and it was Steve Lacy. I mean the kind of hero where you wish you could do what they do. This was mostly based on the evidence of “Evidence,” a record he made in 1961 with Don Cherry. I had to listen to that record about four times a day, and though I was in the dark I memorized Steve Lacy’s solos and tried to figure out what he was doing. The note that lifts all other notes up into the world. Punctuation. The line that’s backwards and forwards and the pop of logic more logical than logic.

At the lesson Steve said he wasn’t really a teacher so maybe we could treat this like a visit to the doctor: play a duet and based on that diagnosis he would prescribe something. Evidently the fundamentals needed vitality. Steve said you had to know the difference between materials and material and suggested two lines of inquiry concerning materials. These were exercises for uncovering the basic elements.

He talked matter of factly about the invisible, and I caught a glimpse of what an artist does. He said, “If you stay in the dark long enough, eventually you’ll see the light.” He gave me a copy of “Hocus Pocus” and a book of rhythm by Kenny Clarke and I was so happy I wrote a poem and worked on those exercises for ten years. The exercises were strong medicine – the first time I played them I got dizzy and almost fainted.

In 1992 I was preparing a concert of Steve’s music and he sent me a fax of “Blinks.” There was a note at the top, and when I started writing this music the note became a song: “Dear Ben, been out of town. Probably too late but here’s Blinks anyway. I am hardly here these days.” Blinks is my favorite Steve Lacy song, it gets the up and down just right, plus the poem was on it so a few of the pieces here are based on “Blinks.”

I had booked the studio for June 7th; Steve passed away June 4th. I was so sad, a lot of people were calling each other up. We had a rehearsal and then went and made the record. It was a sad time. The title comes from a poem by Robert Creeley. Steve Lacy wrote a song called The Door and once he sent me a postcard signed “Chapeau.” Kenny Clarke sat on a chair. In honor of the durability of Steve’s music I once made up an exercise called Pursuit of Facts.

Pursuit of Facts. A fax arrived, with a poem on it. I am hardly here these days.

Ben Goldberg

October 2005

$17.00

Purchase on iTunes

The Relative Value of Things

Kenny and I recorded this in my living room with Jeff Cressmanat the controls. I think it at least partly reflects Kenny's beautiful homemade philosophy. Kenny designed the actual packaging as well as the cover images and it was printed at his mother's printshop. The title is fromRobert Henri'sThe Art Spirit, a book introduced to me by my brother Adam that had a deep effect on many of us at the time.

$8.00

Purchase hi-quality download from Bandcamp

Foreign Legion

"Modern melancholy, modern jubilation, modern swagger and modern volatility – for the last few years Tin Hat has reminded us that things aren’t exactly as they used to be." -- downbeat

I actually played on the very first Tin Hat Trio concert ever! Rob, Mark and Carla had me as a guest at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco. I don’t even want to guess what year it was. From the very first I could hear a beautiful open-minded approach. At the time, a lot of musicians were enjoying playing with people from other musical worlds – “free improvisers” playing with “jazz” musicians, etc. When Tin Hat Trio came along, they had everything in their bag – grooves, beautiful melodies, all kinds of harmonic motion, “free” playing, etc. – and you could hear that for them it was all music. They did not feel the need to identify with a particular camp. So that was very refreshing. When Rob left the group I was very happy to be invited by Mark and Carla to join. It was exactly the right time for me, and it’s been a ball ever since. For a while, Zeena Parkins was the fourth member, then later Ara joined us. I have learned so much about music from playing with these guys, it has completely changed my perspective.

In 2007 we made The Sad Machinery of Spring. We were meticulous in the studio to create just the right sound -- a hallmark of Tin Hat records. But there is another side to the group: unbelievable live performances. When you're on tour things loosen up night after night, anything can happen, and then it's gone forever -- unless you are lucky enough to have recorded it, which brings us to Foreign Legion. We had recordings from gigs all over the place, and when we listened to them we found a couple of gems: the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley and a festival on the island of Mallorca.

Mark did the mix at his studio in Portland so he probably spent the most time with these tapes. Here is what he says:

Foreign Legion includes material from the entire history of Tin Hat, from the title track -- one of the first things we ever played as a group -- to new songs that have never appeared on record. Berkeley’s Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse has always been one of our favorite venues -- we consider it our home town club, and I think you can hear something special in the lovely performances recorded there. The other half of the disc comes from a concert in Mallorca -- a really fun show in a far-flung corner of the world. They put on a great festival there, we had been well fed and provided for, and we were lucky to have it recorded. Even though our other records reflect our interest in sounds you can only get in a studio, listeners know that Tin Hat has always been about live performance -- the kind of group improvisations and chances you take in front of an audience -- so I'd say the live record has been a long time coming, and I couldn't be happier with the results.

$12.00

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Here By Now

Trevor Dunn on bass andElliot Humberto Kaveeon drums. We had a trio for a few years and tried a lot of different ideas on how to play the melodies I was writing. There was one memorable Knitting Factory tour of the East Coast where we had to keep reminding audiences that we were not New Klezmer Trio, and where I learned what a truly unique and brilliant individual Elliot Kavee is. I think this record captures the essence of what we were doing very well, as does the cover painting by Molly Barker. Recorded at Annie's Hall in Berkeley byJeff Cressman.

$4.00

Junk Genius

It’s funny to think that this project originated with John and me wanting to learn some songs to get better at jam sessions! We focused on songs by Bud Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie -- music of the "bebop" era. Of course what happened next wouldn’t have fit into the kind of jam sessions we originally had in mind – like most creative goals it proved to be a kind of inverse confirmation of Yogi Berra’s famous advice: “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”

We went at it with hammer and tongs. And discovered, not for the first or last time, that if you are dealing with material this strong, then your attempts to fuck with it result in you yourself being transformed into a vessel for the further beauty and truth of the original vision. And thus, Junk Genius.

I think Molly Barker captured the state of affairs pretty well with her painting of the enigmatic purple-faced man (menacing? depressed?) for the cover, although Steve Lacy sent a postcard: “I like the music; I do NOT like the title”.

While I enjoyed hearing the music again, I also realized that the sound could be improved. So I handed it to none other than Jon Cohrs of Spleenless Mastering in Brooklyn (Jon mastered the recent records by Tin Hat, and my new releasesUnfold Ordinary Mindand Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues). Jon is reluctant to call what he did a "remastering," since who knows where the master tapes are now, but he did an excellent job and I think you will like the result.

I am happy to be offering this record for the first time in many years as a high-quality digital download exclusively through bandcamp, beginning on Tuesday, March 5, 2013.